Hell hath no fury like Rakshana scorned
by sdykikyou
Summary: The Rakshana have a plan to take the realms' magic from Gemma one way or another. So does it really matter if the Gemma they're after lives in 2007 and has no idea of her past? Full and better summary inside! TSFT, AU and T for swearing, etc...
1. Chapter 1

**True summary: The Rakshana have carried their grudge against Gemma Doyle through the ages. After finding that they couldn't retrieve the realms' magic after assassinating her, they decide to wait for their chilled, then served revenge... Meanwhile, Gemma finds out in the after life that there's only one way to see Kartik again... Like it says, TSFT spoilers, so if you haven't read it yet, STOP READING THIS AND GO READ IT! There. You have been warned. Ummmm... probably T because there's going to be swearing and stuff.**

**Let's see. Um. The reason I wanted to bring it to the present is because I can relate to this time period and don't want to try and ruin the original Spence, etc with my bad writing. Plus, it makes things so much easier in dialogue. I mean, it's beautiful to read Victorian dialogue, but writing it is just such a pain...**

**My first AGATB fic! Please enjoy! And if I were Libba Bray, would I have killed the ridiculously hot Kartik?! So no. Plot only is mine. Plus the kids. No wait, they come from Kartik and Gemma, so... maybe not...**

Sighing, Gemma sat down and looked out of the window that overlooked New York. She could barely believe it- here she finally was, far from oh-so familiar England and even further from now beloved India. She chuckled at the thought: India being beloved. It was only a few months ago that she had been so glad to be rid of it.

_Months?_ Gemma thought for a few more moments, and realized that it had to have been much longer. How long, however, she could not decipher. Time and space had lost nearly all meaning ever since that day in the Winterlands…

A sharp pain and a sudden flood of wetness beneath her made her gasp, which alerted the maid to the situation.

"Get the birthing room ready!" The maid called loudly into the hall before rushing to help Gemma. Her odd New York accent oddly comforted Gemma, who could, for some reason, see nothing but his face before her eyes…

**A few years later…**

"Mama!" A bubbling girl with very curly black hair came running to her, a frown adorning her adorable face. "Mama, Thomas has just pulled at my hair for I told him that he must not sneak out! He is cruel to me, when others are taught to be civil!"

Gemma sighed as she mused that maybe these twins of hers had yet to prove they were twelve years of age.

"Do not allow Thomas to do as such. We women are strong enough to stand up to him."

"But Mama!"

"Mary, you are older than him, no matter how little the margin is. Shall we go scold him for such naughty things?"

Mary considerably brightened at this idea and they walked over to where the boy was playing.

"Mama, I did not do anything!"

"Hush, now, Thomas. You should not do such things to your dear sister, nor should you endeavor to do anything without my permission."

"How is she a sister of mine? We look nothing alike," Thomas mumbled under his breath. It wasn't entirely a lie; though the twins both had gold-flecked green eyes, Thomas had rich red hair and had grown to be quite tall, while Mary was quite the opposite.

"Thomas!" Gemma's sharp tone shocked the boy into looking up at her. In a softer tone, she said, "You should not say such things about your sister. We are all we have left, my dear. Do not ever forget that."

"Forgive me, Mama." Thomas mumbled shamefacedly. Gemma smiled kissed his forehead. Mary frowned as she came closer. Gemma laughed at the sour expression and kissed Mary also.

"Mama, what is my name?" Mary asked innocently, but Gemma knew what would come next. She happily complied.

"You must never forget this name of yours, Mary. Your full name is Mary Sahirah Dowd."

"And what is brother's name?"

"Thomas is simply Thomas Henry Dowd."

"His name is not as splendid as mine, is it?"

"No, my dear."

"Mama, can you tell me the story behind my name?"

"Well…"

Gemma smiled as she sat with Thomas and Mary at her feet and explained, for the umpteenth time, that Mary was the name of her mother, and that Sahirah was a favorite mentor of hers that had died in order to save Gemma and her friends.

This time, however, Mary asked an unprecedented question. "Mama, whatever happened to Papa?"

Gemma's breathing halted abruptly and she sighed softly.

"My dear, before you were born, there was a great battle. A great big battle, but nothing you may repeat outside of these walls, for no one else in the world knows of it," Gemma started. Mary and Thomas both swore never to repeat it. Though they were only twelve, they knew more than enough of the world to know what might happen. "Your father was a brave man, and he fought with me every step of the battle. In the end, however, he sacrificed himself to save me. And he ended up saving you two as well."

Mary smiled softly. "That's terribly romantic…"

Thomas growled in annoyance. "He should have been strong enough to save both of you."

Gemma shook her head. "No, no… He was stronger than any man that you may see about you today. Much, much stronger, in both heart and soul. Now," she said, brightening, "who shall come with me to call on Mr. Timbleton?"

Both children accompanied their mother as they walked to the sweets shop, dodging the taxis that ruled the New York streets.

"Do you see her?"

"Yes. I do."

"Have you a clear shot? It will only be a few moments before the poison takes effect."

"This must be foolproof. The Rakshana must eliminate the creator of the seal to break the seal and draw the magic from the realms."

"For the Rakshana, Gemma Doyle must die."

And then the shot flew.

Gemma almost felt the bullet enter her body before it actually did. She crumpled immediately, thousands of thoughts buzzing about her slowly numbing mind.

"Mama!" The children cried as she lay on the sidewalk, a crowd forming. With her last burst of strength, she took both children's hands, and then released them. Her fingers fumbled with the amulet around her neck, which she thrust into Mary's hand.

"This must be always in the Dowd line, Mary. It must go to your daughter someday, and then to hers… Take care of each other, my loves…"

Gemma's eyes flew to the sky and her back arched in pain.

"Kartik…"

And so passed Gemma Doyle, daughter of Mary Dowd, priestess of the Order.

**I'm so sorry! I know that this chapter sucked, but I'm working on it! I swear it'll get better, really. It's just that I just got this inspiration and rushed to write it down... Plus I suck at writing the early 1900's... Please review constructively: It's not just to get more reviews or get praise (though I wouldn't mind that ), but to better my writing. Therefore, if you want to review, whether positively or negatively, please add a few reasons why you like it? Please??**

**By the way, no, I've never given birth or been near anyone who was in the process of giving birth, so I'm sorry if the first part is completely inaccurate. And no, you won't be seeing anything else like that in the series. And I was working on making the children 8 years old, so if they sound kind of immature or something, that's a mistake. Ummm. Point it out?**

**Sonya... is working on the next chapter while dealing with the odd craving for peanut butter and jalapeño flavored potato chips**

**Goodbye, mere jaan!**


	2. Chapter 2: Rebirth

Gemma's eyelids fluttered open and she sat up slowly. As she remembered what had happened, her hand flew to her side… but there was nothing there. She looked down at her naked form and blushed.

"I need clothes…" She said aloud, hoping nobody was around her. As though by magic, a folded white robe appeared in front of her and she put it on as she looked around.

She was in the realms.

"Most High."

Gemma stood up to see the Gorgon standing in her usual place. (How had she missed the Gorgon? She was standing right there, after all.) The boat stood proud on the river…

"Am I-?"

"Yes."

Gemma nodded, unsure of how to take the news. Was she supposed to be happy? She could see Kartik again, after all. But her children…

"Most High must cross."

Gemma nodded again, feeling like an idiot. She looked around her, drinking in the familiar surroundings. She didn't want to leave, to cross… She wanted to see her children again, to tell them of their past… to hold them for one last time…

An arbitrary glance across the river nearly stopped her heart a second time. Kartik was standing there, simply staring. Gemma stood up, her eyes connected to his. As Gemma flew to Kartik, her body slowly followed down to the river, where a smaller boat sprung up. She needed to be with him. Her body sat down in the boat and finally bridged the distance between her body and Kartik's, where she flew at him.

"Kartik!" She sighed as she buried her head into his chest. His familiar scent overpowered her senses. Kartik said nothing, but after a moment wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her closer.

"Gemma…" Kartik sighed into her ear. Gemma knew that this must be it. She was finally done. Gemma pulled back slightly from the hug to put her hand to his cheek. "Gemma, are you that clumsy? I didn't sacrifice myself just so that you could trip into the street one day and die!"

Gemma laughed and kissed him. Kartik pulled her even closer, so close that it felt as though their bodies would meld into one. She ran her fingers through his dark curls and relished the feel of his hand so close to her skin…

There was an odd popping sound coming from behind them that Gemma was happy to ignore. Kartik, however, was not. He pulled away from the kiss with a panic-stricken expression. Without a word in response to her questions, he grabbed her hand and dragged her as far away as possible, trying to buy time.

"Kartik, what's going on?"

"I've been dodging it for a while now, hoping to keep it away until I could see you once again."

"But what is _it_?"

"Members of the Rakshana and members of the Order can never reside in the realms for too long once dead. While other souls can move on, they have to help a certain number-"

They ran again at that popping sound, aimlessly, until they reached a large tree. It reminded Gemma unpleasantly of the Tree of All Souls, but Kartik pulled her up all the same. Her robe tore, leaving all but the skin from her shoulders to her knees exposed. He cradled her gently in his lap, looking for and eventually finding stability in the tree branch. He finally continued his explanation.

"Our souls live forever, you know. We just keep going through these cycles until we finally reach the end of our soul's purpose. That is when members like us can finally reside here in peace. For the Rakshana and the Order, since we both used to ferry souls, that's what we have to do to break the cycle-help a certain number of souls. But seeing as all our souls have been doing for the past century is fighting with each other, we have yet to fill that requirement."

"So the Hindu priests weren't very far from the mark."

"No, they weren't. However, the time period in which your new life is isn't marked. You could go back into the past, to the time of Queen Elizabeth-"

"Or Homer."

Kartik smiled. "Or Homer," he agreed. "But you can also go into the future. The point is, I've found this all out."

"I don't see the point to _that_."

"Well, if two people were to be taken to be reincarnated at the same time, they would stray far from each other on the timeline, right?"

"…I guess."

"And now that you have found this all out as a soul, just as I did, you can now reawaken this life's memories and emotions with a simple trigger in any new life now."

"…So?" Gemma asked. She was tired of all of this theory. She just wanted those full red lips back on hers…

"So, my beautiful Gem, if you and I were to go in together…"

Realization dawned on Gemma's face. "We could be together again!"

"Exactly," whispered Kartik into Gemma's ear. Gemma leaned into his chest and she ran her fingers through his hair. Kartik sat there silently, holding Gemma as tightly as possible.

"Gem," he said after a long pause, "I know a way in which we can definitely be together."

Gemma nodded and brushed her lips softly against his neck. It took all the restraint in the world for Kartik to keep going on with the explanation.

"G-Gem, I've heard about the future from lots of souls, and they say that there's so much that's changed. People are accepting. There's no more slavery or domination or anything! India is… it's liberated from England in the future… People allow anything. They even allow men to love men and women to love women."

"Like Fee and Pip," Gemma said softly.

"Life Miss Worthington and Miss Cross," Kartik agreed. "But more than that, Gem… They allow people of different races to be together."

Gemma looked up at Kartik and kissed him, gasping happily as he started to tear off her robe. But all of a sudden they were falling, Kartik's arms around Gemma tightly.

"Gemma, you must let go only when I tell you to!" Kartik shouted over the intense noise. He seemed to know what was going on. Gemma didn't understand. Was this the cycle? The whirlpool-like mass that Kartik saved her from by bringing her up into the tree? Completely disoriented, she only felt Kartik's lips on hers and then her hand slipped out of his and she was falling, falling…

**1992**

"Oh, look! Isn't she beautiful?"

"She sure is…"

"She has your eyes, you know, Sahirah. Such a beautiful green color…"

"She certainly is a gem of a child…"

**Haha, get it? Gem of a child? Haha… Not funny. This chapter was kind of crappy… but I can't think of any other way to lead into this century. The writing will increase exponentially in quality next chapter onwards (hopefully).**

**Um, anyways. In case you were wondering why Mary Sahirah is so named and not named with some other middle name, it's because I like the name Sahirah. It's not a relatively common name like Felicity or Ann, although Gemma would probably name her kids something like that. Maybe. I don't know. Incidentally, since I don't want to work with new names and say something like "Sarah/Gemma" and "Raj/Kartik" all the time, their names are…. drumroll Gemma and Kartik. Because I'm just unoriginal like that. Gemma's life is a passed on tale in their family (which happens to be the Dowd line), so they decide to name her Gemma because of the green eyes. And Kartik is a really popular Indian name (I should know, seeing as three of my cousins and many, many more friends are named Karthik, but I can stick with LB's spelling…), so…. Yeah. Ummm. That's about it.**

**As usual, whether you liked it or not, please, please tell me why if you review! (and it helps my crappy writing to get better, too!)**

**Sonya… her eggo is preggo (haha! Just kidding. Mine isn't, but Juno's is!)**


	3. Chapter 3: Meetings

**Here's more of it! They finally meet **

**2007**

Gemma walked along a dusty street in India, accompanied by her best friend, her sister and, because of her parent's fear of rapists, her brother. Gemma thought it unnecessary, seeing as they allowed her to roam the streets of New York alone. Still, there was no sending away Nathaniel, and so she resigned herself to simply ignoring him.

"Hot, hot _chaat_! Hot, hot _chaat_!" A vendor called somewhere down the street.

"I don't get why he insists on selling it now. It's pretty hot out," Gemma commented as Mary stared at a reflection of herself in the mirror. Gemma motioned to Poonam to stand on Mary's other side.

"So, Mary, do you like what you see?" She asked casually, leaning on Mary's shoulder. Mary snapped out of her reverie.

"Shall we go inside the shop?" Mary asked, frantic to compose herself. "It's quite hot out."

Gemma nodded and the four walked into the shop. As they walked in, Mary giggled slightly and whispered, "It's quite hot in here, too."

Gemma saw what Mary was talking about, or rather, who. There was a tall Indian teen- probably eighteen or so- who was wrapping a package for a customer while chatting jovially. Though she couldn't make out the exact words, Gemma could tell it was flattery by the way the old lady laughed girlishly. Gemma walked off into the shop with Poonam, looking around at the intricate handicrafts and dresses that the shop sold. They were beautiful, all of them. Some were small, intricately carved elephants, others peacocks. Gemma started to inspect the artwork that surrounded a rather large mirror. It was extremely intricate, but somehow different from everything else in the shop. Gemma glanced at her own reflection briefly.

Her skin was a very light tan color- the product of having an Indian mother and American father. Her hair was both black and red- mainly black, but with natural red streaks mixed in. Most people thought she highlighted it herself. She kept looking at the things around the mirror until Poonam came over.

"Gemma! Do you like this figurine? I think it's adorable!" She said loudly, rushing over. Gemma looked at the figurine as Poonam said, under her breath, "He's staring at you."

"Who's staring at me?" Gemma whispered. Poonam shifted slightly so that Gemma could see in the mirror.

"The hot guy behind the counter. I'm not sure, but I think he's New York. Heard the grandfather say something about going back in a few weeks." Poonam whispered back. "And he's staring at you."

Gemma chanced a look in the mirror to see if Poonam was right.

She was. Gemma could see the boy's face clearly now, seeing as he was staring at her. He had curly black hair and beautiful brown eyes. Not to mention the most gorgeous, full red lips… Gemma mentally shook herself out of this reverie. Even if the guy was gorgeous, the fact that he was staring, just staring and doing nothing else was kind of scary. She picked up one or two of the trinkets she had been eyeing and brought them to the counter, with Poonam and Mary following along. She set her things down on the table gently: a small marble elephant with beautiful inlay and a small plate with the most beautiful crescent eye design on top of a rose and sword that were crossed like the swords on a Jolly Roger.

The boy looked down and quickly calculated the total, then parroted the amount to Gemma. She pulled out the money, eager to leave. The boy handed her change and a bag with her wrapped items.

"Interesting choices."

Despite the creepiness, Gemma felt affronted.

"What's so interesting about them?"

"Not the elephant. The plate."

"Again, what's so interesting?"

Poonam tugged on her shirt gently.

"Gemma, we're going outside. Hurry up and meet us there."

Gemma nodded, not taking her eyes off of the boy. He chuckled slightly.

"Well, those are two symbols of very powerful magical groups."

"Who, the Harry Potter fan club and the power of three?"

"Joke as you might, the crescent eye represents a powerful group of women-sorceresses, actually- called the Order. The rose and sword represent the Rakshana, a group of equally powerful, though not magical, men. They used to be lovers, you know."

"Wonderful. Well, as much as I'd like to stay and be freaked out, I'm going to leave." Gemma said.

"Maybe you have a connection to the Order, and that's the reason you're taking the plate," the boy pressed, with an odd look on his face. It was as though he expected her to know him or something about these weird groups.

"Look. Maybe they ran out of meds to give you in New York, so whenever you go back, be sure to get a refill." Gemma turn on her heel and walked off, bag in hand.

"So? What did he want?" Mary asked. "Did he ask you out?"

"No. Just tried to freak me out by talking about these magical groups. Weirdo." They walked down the street in silence until Gemma heard someone calling her name. It was the boy again.

"How do you know my name?" Gemma demanded as the boy stopped. He panted slightly before responding with "Your friend… said it in… the shop."

"Well, what do you want?"

"Your change. You left it on the counter." The boy took his hand off of his knee and stretched up to his full height. Once Gemma glimpsed his face, she could barely suppress the urge to kiss him right then and there. She grabbed the money and turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand.

"How do you know I live in New York?" He asked of her. Gemma loosed her hand of his grip.

"Your accent. If you don't mind, I have to go back before my brother decides to run you through with a sharp implement. Good day."

As she walked away, Gemma could feel his stare on her back. As the foursome turned the corner to walk off, Gemma could see him, still standing there with an odd expression on his face, something that Gemma couldn't seem to identify.

Later that night, Gemma lay down on her cot, her finger running over the designs on the plate. As she drifted off to sleep, she finally figured out what that expression was.

It was disappointment.

It was hurt.

It was determination.

It was… love.

**Kartik has already recognized her, but it'll take a few more chapters for her to catch on. From then on, we're going to go on to the actual magic and realms part of the story.**

**Remember, all reviews need a reason why you like or hate the story! Until next time, my loves.**

**Sonya... fell asleep in her contacts and now her eyes hurt like crazy **


	4. Chapter 4: Mysterious readings

**I'm getting through these fast! I've got a vague idea of what the realms has to do with this, but it might slow down in the future. However, for my dear corned-beef-famine, this is the next chapter. By the way, c-b-f asked me about this, so just to clear this up: Mary is Gemma's sister, Poonam is her best friend. Nate is her twin brother. Kay? Kay. Onwards!**

Sonya tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for flight 1895 to come into the Amsterdam airport. Honestly, how was a girl to write a story if the characters couldn't even bother to show up on time?! She glanced at her watch again. It said 12:30, and there were no delays, meaning that the flight was an hour late. Glancing around, Sonya caught sight of a clock on the wall.

11:30.

As though on cue, a crowd of people started out of the gate and spilled into the airport. Sonya, ignoring the fact that her watch had been set an hour ahead, marched over to Gemma and Mary, who were waiting for Poonam.

"It's about time! Geez, do you know how hard it is to write a story without the friggin' characters?!" Sonya demanded before stalking off. Gemma and Mary exchanged glances before waiting for their friend. Thankfully, they had a very short change time, which allowed them time to just freshen up, grab stuff for lunch and run off to their next flight. Though her sister and Poonam had slept soundly throughout the flight, Gemma was unable to do so. What was it about that idiot in India that made her stay up for the whole flight just thinking about him? That odd expression he'd had on his face, as though he was so hurt by her. It wasn't like she'd done anything! She sure didn't know him, but he acted as if he knew her…

"Gemma! Come on!" Mary called. Gemma nodded and ran to catch up, but ended up ramming into someone.

"I'm sorry! I'm just in a rush and I didn't expect- you?!"

Gemma stood up as that same boy stood up and handed her her things.

"What are you, stalking me?" She demanded as she took her things. Kartik shrugged.

"It's a coincidence."

Gemma remembered the look on his face in India. "I don't believe in coincidences."

"I'll bet you don't believe in Santa, either. What a horrible child. Aren't you supposed to believe until you become, say, 13 years old?"

"I'm almost seventeen!" She protested. The boy rolled his eyes.

"You don't act like it."

Gemma flipped him off. "Up yours."

---

Gemma shoved her things into the overhead cabin and sat morosely in the middle seat of her row. Her thoughts were trained on that boy. He seemed so different from how he was in India, as though he just didn't care. It was a quite drastic difference from his pleading looks in India.

_Gods, I'd jump him…_ This unbidden thought made her blush as a rather portly man sat next to her with a hungry look in this eye. It wasn't brought on by lack of food, that's for sure.

"So! This'll be a fun flight, eh, my dear?" He asked Gemma's chest quite loudly as his hand "accidentally" grabbed her bum. She was about to go knock the crap out of him when a loud voice announced, "You're in my seat."

Gemma looked up to see that same guy from earlier _again_. He was just standing there, an annoyingly sexy scowl on his lips.

"You, girl, are in my seat! Look, this is _my_ seat. It's 21D, right there."

Gemma looked at the ticket. It was hers.

"This isn't yours." She whispered.

"If you want to sit next to Sir Roaming Hands the whole trip, be my guest and shout it out."

Gemma pouted very slightly before taking her bag from the middle seat.

"Sorry." She said. Nathaniel turned around to look at her and they had a half-telepathic, half-expression conversation. (For your convenience, **this is Gemma** and _this is Nate_.)

_Haven't we seen this stalker before?_

**Don't worry. He's okay. For now, that is.**

_He's okay? What, you don't even know his name?_

**No, but he saved me from some old guy who tried to grope me**.

_WHAT?!_ (Nate is very protective of his sister because he's a nice older brother. Even if it is only by a few seconds.)

**Don't worry, nothing bad happened. I'll be fine. Turn around and keep flirting with that girl you've been flirting with.**

_…Shut up._ Nate blushed and turned around.

Gemma turned back to the boy.

"So… Any name I can thank you with?"

"Kartik. Kartik Archuri."

"Kartik…" Gemma tried out the name, and it felt so natural to say… "Well, thank you, Kartik Archuri."

"No problem." Kartik replied. He pulled out a book and started to read it, now paying no attention to Gemma. Because they were in the air by this time, Gemma pulled out her iPod and started to listen.

---

A sudden weight on his shoulder startled Kartik. He turned his head to see that Gemma had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and one of her hands was holding onto his sleeve. He risked waking her up but managed to cover most of her upper half with the blanket that had slipped down into her lap. He wanted to keep reading, but her presence was all too noticeable in the form of her light breathing on his neck. He could barely breathe. It was Gemma- _his­_ Gemma- and she still didn't recognize him. From what he could tell, her personality resembled the old personality he knew and loved. A plan started to formulate in his head, and by the end of the plane ride, he was sure it would work…

---

When Gemma woke up, she was surprised to find that she was asleep on Kartik's shoulder, and blushed accordingly. When she looked for his expression, she found he was asleep too.

"Um, hey… Kartik?" She asked gently, nudging his shoulder. Kartik's eyes drifted open lazily. "The plane landed. Thanks again for the assist."

"Sure," he yawned, "no problem." He smiled brightly, making it extremely hard for Gemma to keep her grudge against him.

"Well… bye." She said awkwardly, allowing him to leave. Since he hadn't brought any bags onto the plane, he left without a second to spare. Gemma was about to leave herself when she saw something on his seat.

"Hey! You forgot something! Kartik?" She called, picking up his book. She ran outside and looked all over for him, but couldn't find him. She finally resigned herself to keeping the book and hopefully looking him up later to return it.

She looked at the cover and read the name aloud.

"_A History of Secret Societies_ by Wilhelmina Wyatt."

**Sorry 'bout the Sonya thing, if that confuzzled any of you. No, that crazy lady was just me being a loser. So don't worry, you can ignore her. Sorry if that was weird, I just had the impulse to put her in there. Or me. Whatever. Anyways... reasons and suggestions in your reviews, as always. Until the next chapter, my loves!**

**Sonya... is congratulating herself on writing a chapter all in one day!**


	5. Chapter 5: Remembrance

**Again, I'm sorry if the Sonya thing threw you off last time... hehe... that was me being an idiot. Further proof that I am not LB. Anywhos. Ummm... going on!**

Gemma, Mary, Poonam and Nate finally arrived at the apartment overlooking 5th Avenue. Though it was expensive at first, Gemma and Poonam asked their parents to let them stay there alone while the rest of the families moved out to New Jersey. All four had miraculously been accepted to the same college- Columbia- and were planning on staying in this apartment if not go to the dorms. They knew the value that the apartment held for Gemma's family, seeing as it was the apartment that the original Gemma Dowd owned.

"Gemma! Hurry up! We're going to go grab a bite to eat. You want to come?" Mary asked, calling into Gemma's room. Gemma shook her head.

"No. I'm kind of tired, so I'll stay back. Bring me something if you want, but I'm not really hungry." Gemma said, faking a yawn. Mary shrugged and closed the door. Gemma fell back onto the bed, taking in the familiar surroundings. There was her bed in the middle of the windowed wall, purposely placed so that she could lie down on her stomach and look out at the skyline. There were her nightstands on either side of the bed, both equipped with rather large bookshelves so that she could put all of her favorite books on either side and pull them out whenever she wanted. She had many favorite books. Her walls were filled with posters, leaving not an inch of white to be seen. The floors had the same boarding that they did back in the 1800's, back when Gemma Dowd owned it. Now Gemma Dowd II basically rented it from her parents in exchange for good grades.

There were many books on her nightstand, but Gemma reached for the one hidden in her bag. The obvious book to read, while the night was young and her curiosity built by the second. She pulled _A History of Secret Societies_ from her bag and started to read. She flipped through the pages generally until the book flew open to a page entitled "The Order". She read it through, engrossed by the writing and the depth. The hairs on the back of her neck started to rise as she learned of the magic these girls had, and the realms that they believed in…

When she finished, she looked at the covers for some form of identity, to see if there were names she could ask Kartik about when she found him.

If she found him.

"No!" She whispered to herself. "I will find him."

Gemma turned to the very last page. It was blank except for three names in the upper right hand corner.

_Felicity Worthington_. This name was written in a beautiful, delicate script.

**Ann Bradshaw**. This name was less delicate. The writing was shaky, as though the writer was nervous, and dark, as though the pen were pressed down deeply.

The next name made Gemma's heart skip a beat.

_Gemma Doyle_. Where did "Doyle" come from?

As Gemma traced her finger over the name, she felt a plunging feeling in her stomach, as though she would vomit. All of a sudden, she was being pulled, pushed and stretched all at once until she was in a black corridor.

"Hello?!" She called desperately. Whatever this hell was, she wanted out. She suddenly saw flashes of scenes: a tree… Gypsies... truffles… blue-white eyes that looked pure but spoke volumes of corruption…

A sudden scene pulled her into a chair in what her room was almost 200 years ago. A woman sat writing in a journal when a little girl ran into the room.

"_Mama! Thomas has pulled my braid for I told him that he must not sneak out! He is cruel to me, when others are taught to be civil!"_

The woman stood up, and Gemma gasped. This had to be Gemma Dowd. Or Doyle. Or whatever her name was. Gemma looked on as the woman closed the book.

"_Do not allow Thomas to do as such. We women are strong enough to stand up to him."_

_"But Mama!"_

_"Mary, you are older than him, no matter how little the margin is. Shall we go scold him for such naughty things?"_

The girl- apparently her name was Mary- skipped out of the room, a happy expression on her face. Gemma crouched down, opened up a board and placed the book inside. She shot the intruder Gemma a look, as though to say "You better look through this". Wait. Could this mother Gemma see her? Gemma looked down at her body-

The plunging feeling returned to Gemma's stomach and she suddenly ended up on her bed, her whole body soaked with sweat. How long had it been? She looked over at the clock. Time hadn't moved since she'd seen that… But how exactly _had_ she seen that? Scrambling to the floor, she fumbled frantically with the floorboards until one finally gave way. Gemma peered inside and gently picked up the book inside. She blew off the dust on the cover and opened what she decided must be a journal.

_To whomever might come across this,_

_Forgive me if I admit I do not know your name, nor do I know anything about you. All I can say is that you must be one from my line if you were to happen upon this through visions. Otherwise, you will not understand anything that I explain in this account._

_What need is there for this account? Every need in the world. Ever since I left England to come here, it has bothered me. What exactly had bothered me, I suppose I shall just outline here. On the way over from England, I had a vision. A vision of a beautiful girl finding this under the floorboards of my room. I have no idea what is supposed to be inside these pages, but I will put down the account of my life and I hope that this will be enough to help you to your ends, whatever they may be. You see, my original name is Gemma Doyle, but I have changed it ever since… well, the Winterlands. To understand this tale, I must explain another to you… the tale of my life as far as is relevant to the Winterlands. I shall start from the last time I ever saw my mother…_

_Faithfully, Gemma Doyle_

Gemma looked up, a cold sweat breaking across her brow again. Gemma flipped open the next page, which was entitled "My Sixteenth Birthday"…

---

Gemma was running as fast as she could outside, hoping that this was the right address. She had finally finished the journal- or rather, seen fragments of it through visions, then read it for clarity. She then looked up Kartik's address in the phone book, only to find that there was a Kartik Archuri listed down the street. Miss Wyatt's book in hand, she rapped on the door to the listed apartment. The door opened and there stood Kartik, wearing nothing but boxers, rubbing his eyes blearily, as though he had been woken up. Gemma kissed him without warning, gripping his hair tightly with her fingers, wishing she would never have to let go. Kartik's hands had long pulled her into his body, one pressing her head gently against his and the other wrapped around her waist.

"Took you long enough," Kartik breathed as they broke for air. Gemma sighed into his chest, breathing in his familiar scent.

"Well, the magic had to activate my memories. It's a part of me, you know." Gemma said. "It's odd. I thought that my soul would override my life's memories and thoughts, but it's not like that. I can still think for myself, I just have memories from long ago too. And feelings. Lots of feelings." Kartik finally closed the door and led Gemma in.

"Wicked place," she said appreciatively, looking around. It was a large apartment, lavish but not overdone. Gemma sank into a couch as Kartik flicked on the TV and walked off to the kitchen.

"Want anything?" He called. Gemma thought for a moment.

"You," she called back.

"Very funny, Gem. How about coke with lemon?" He asked. Gemma frowned. Was Kartik trying to drug her? And wouldn't he do it a bit more subtly?

"I don't take drug- Oh!" Gemma exclaimed as he came back into the room with two glasses filled with fizzy brown soda. "Coca-Cola. I knew that."

"What, you don't say coke? It's not like I'd purposely give you any. I learned my lesson with the last girl I had over-" Kartik stopped short at the look she gave him.

"The _last_ girl you had over?" Gemma demanded coldly. Kartik cleared his throat nervously.

"Well, Gem, it was before I had gotten my memory back. My ex-girlfriend came over about five months ago, pretty wasted and who knows what else. She basically tried to get into my pants and when I didn't let her, she shattered the window and stormed out." Kartik explained simply. Gemma wanted to be angry, but it was nearly impossible to be angry at Kartik.

A thought came to her as one of Gemma Doyle's memories flashed through her head.

"Say, Kartik... Miss McCleethy burned my copy of _A History of Secret Societies_." She said, testing Kartik.

Kartik laughed. "Don't think I don't know about how the three of you took her copy and made it your own. You three wrote your names down in it before going your separate ways."

"Oh," she said, happy he'd passed the test. Leaning into his body, she started tracing circles on his chest with her finger. Kartik walked his fingers down Gemma's spine, grinning when she gasped at his touch on her bare stomach. He brought her face close to his.

"Gemma…" He sighed softly before kissing her. He pulled her onto his lap and-

Kartik and Gemma both jumped five feet into the air as the doorbell rang. Kartik cursed a bit as he ran over to answer the door. In came Poonam, who looked mad as hell. Without a word, she slapped Kartik. Hard.

"Hey to you too." He muttered.

"You bastard! Don't think I didn't recognize you in India." Poonam walked right into the room and grabbed Gemma's arm, ready to leave, but Kartik blocked the doorway.

"Poonam, come on. It's just me. Besides, Gemma came here of her own free will."

"Yeah, right. Come on, Gemma!" Poonam tugged on Gemma's arm, but Gemma refused to follow.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Poonam, it's not my fault. None of it is."

"What, the part about you leaving or the part about how you decided to come back once I'd finally forgotten you?"

"Wait a minute! What's going on?" Gemma cried. No one listened to her.

"Jesus, Poonam, you make it sound so melodramatic! I just went to study medicine!"

"And who knows what else."

"Poonam, I never really left. It was just that Mom and Dad sent me off and didn't let me back until this summer. It's complete coincidence!"

"Yeah right. I'm not listening to your crap." Poonam said angrily.

"Fine, then. Your choice. Door's right there." Kartik said, gesturing to the door.

"You infuriate me!" Poonam yelled. Kartik grinned and hugged her against her will.

"Isn't that what big brothers are for?"

Needless to say, Gemma's jaw dropped.

**Mujajajaja! (That's an evil spanish laugh that my friend made up. I stole it. Evil! Mujajaja! Anyways. I'm off the sugar now...) So. Did that throw ya? Did it? I have a vague plot forming in my head, but unfortunately, that means that I have to make it unvague and so you might be confuzzled for a while. Sorry for any discrepancies, by the way, but yeah. Um, this just kind of came as a curveball (meaning it was a spur of the moment thing and that I'm going with it now). So... yeah. And I don't know how to explain Gemma past/ Gemma future. See... The future Gemma has her own thought process and all, but she has the past Gemma's memories and very strong feelings for Kartik, right? So even if she has memories of Gemma being tricked by Circe and Gemma going into the realms with Fee and Ann and Pip, she hasn't experienced this yet in this life/body, so she can make similar mistakes and everything still feels new. Same with Kartik. So Gemma and Kartik recognize each other, but they don't really _know_ each other. If that confuses you, forget it, and if it helps you, you're welcome. **

**I'm sorry. I'm giving up. I tried and tried not to do it, but I am now. I will be a loser and beg for reviews and bug you because my friends refuse to help me and now I need you to review and rip my writing apart. And, because I'm going to be very bit- er, witchy about this, I'm going to only publish my next chapter when I have... 11 reviews. 5 for AGATB, 2 for RA and 4 for TSFT. The first letter of each word in each title? So. Eleven reviews per chapter. And since I've got this thing going, believe me when I say I'll have the idea ready by the time eleven reviews come my way.**

**Sonya... hopes she has enough readers to get 11 reviews... if not, she'll just wait until corned-beef-famine tries to shoot her to post the next chapter. (but no goading c-b-f into shooting Sonya!)**


	6. Chapter 6: Remembrance part 2

**Wow! I got seven reviews since the last chapter! That's... counts on fingers seven more reviews than I expected! Read on, my darlings!**

"WAIT ONE MINUTE!" Gemma cried at the top of her lungs, which got everyone's attention. "You two are _related_?"

"Yeah…" Kartik said.

"Not by choice, that's for sure." Poonam added sullenly.

"How did this fail to qualify as something important to tell me?" Gemma demanded.

Kartik shrugged. "Well, your lips were taking up a much larger part of my attention at the moment. Sorry." Gemma made a face at him.

"I don't consider him my brother anymore." Poonam said.

"You mean _didn't_." Kartik said, pushing her playfully into the couch. She shrugged.

"I'm still debating that."

"Why?" Gemma asked with a glance at Kartik. Kartik shook his head furiously but the damage was already done: Poonam looked ready to blow steam out of her ears.

"Because he abandoned me!" Poonam said. Kartik sat down on Poonam (and a small scuffle ensued in which Poonam ended up sitting on top of Kartik instead, effectively depriving him of air).

"Abandoned… you?"

"Well, our parents used to be super strict. They wouldn't let us go out except to go to school, and then we could only ever study." Poonam explained. Gemma frowned in confusion.

"Ummm, does that mean you got newly adopted or something? Because last time I checked, your parents were the most laid-back people I've ever met," Gemma said. Poonam nodded.

"Well, Kartik ran away about four years ago, leaving me under their 24-hour scrutiny. It got so bad that I got into drugs."

Gemma nodded solemnly, remembering that the first time she met Poonam. It had been a rainy night while Gemma was rushing home from a party, and Poonam was crouched under a street light telling every passerby she could that the ladybugs were going to eat her and take over the world with her body.

"If they were that strict, how did you get into drugs?"

"Don't remember. That whole year was like a permanent high until you got me sobered up. Kartik finally returned three years ago, and, with my parents' permission, got this apartment for summers and rented it out during the school year while he lived in India, studying to be a doctor." Poonam said. "It was only after my parents met you that they let up so much. After Kartik came back."

"Oh. And now you'll forgive Kartik?"

"I suppose…" Poonam said. "Especially since you're probably going to be dating him now or something. Speaking of which, how is it that you went from paranoia to lust in less than, say, three encounters?"

Gemma looked at Kartik, who had finally pushed Poonam off of his lap.

"Well, Kartik and I knew each other in a past lifetime. Loved each other, actually," Gemma corrected herself. "It seems weird and all, but our souls recognized each other because I was this priestess and he came from this group that used to be my group's lovers and we fell in love but he sacrificed himself but his soul still managed to survive so we jumped into the whirlpool together and here we are!"

Poonam had a blank expression on her face.

"I didn't know you two did drugs."

Kartik cleared his throat. "Poonam, remember how Mom and Dad used to read us those bedtime stories?"

"The ones about how the disobedient boy got eaten by a tiger?"

"No," Kartik replied curtly. "The ones they told us before those, about magic. Those tales aren't all false. Those two groups _did_ exist. Those groups are called the Order and the Rakshana. Gemma's ancestor was named Gemma _Doyle_, Poonam."

Poonam's eyes widened and Gemma wondered why.

"You mean…"

"Gemma even has her diary, the one that tells Gemma's tale from when she discovered magic right until the very day she died."

"…Gemma…" Poonam said, sitting back down. Gemma sat down next to her. "Wow..."

"But how do you already know about Gemma?"

"Well, my friend came across the Rakshana while she was doing this project online, and they described the Order as a bunch of evil witches… But anyways, we went into it more and found out about this girl named Gemma Doyle. She was amazing! She did all of these things to save the magic from being usurped, and-"

"But how do you know about all of this?" Gemma demanded. "No one knew about Gemma except for her closest friends!"

"It was written by a person named F.M. Worthington."

Gemma didn't need to jump far back to remember. "Worthington? Felicity Worthington! Felicity wrote- Why would Felicity have written about Gemma?"

"Who knows?" Poonam said dismissively. "Do you have the diary with you? Can I see it?"

"Why so eager? You never told me you were interested in magic," Gemma asked teasingly. Surprisingly, Poonam turned red and looked down. Gemma felt slightly embarrassed at this and pulled out the journal that Gemma Doyle had written in. Poonam took it, obviously eager to look at it but trying not to let on that she was.

"Well, let's go home then!" Poonam said cheerfully. Kartik's charms had obviously softened the girl's hatred seeing as Poonam half hugged him. "Unless you want to stay the night, Gem?" Poonam raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Probably," Gemma said with a smile. Poonam smiled.

"Have fun sleeping." The door closed and they heard her voice again from outside. "Don't forget to use a condom!"

"Poonam!" Gemma protested. Kartik wrapped his arms around Gemma's waist, drawing her close.

"What? It's perfectly good advice."

Gemma didn't answer- or probably couldn't since her mind was clouded at the moment. Kartik kissed her neck softly, drawing shudders of pleasure from Gemma. Kartik twirled Gemma around and kissed her gently. Gemma kissed him back, her hands pressed against his torso.

"Kartik…" Gemma sighed softly as he kissed up her jaw to her ear.

"Have I mentioned that I love you, my Gem?" He whispered softly.

"I think that base is covered, Kartik," Gemma whispered back before Kartik picked her up off of her feet and carried her into the bedroom, where they fell asleep in each other's arms.

**Half filler, half finishing up what was started last chapter. Hope you liked it though... I'm in kind of a writer's slump, so bear with me! You know the review drill...**

**Sonya... is sick and coughing her lungs out. But there's always Scrubs!**

**"Aah! Dr. Turkleton!"**

**"Actually, sir, it's just Turk."**

**"That's your _first_ name."**

**"You think my name is Turk Turkleton?"**

**as Carla walks up "And Mrs. Turkleton! The Turkletons!! chuckle Can I get a scotch?"**

**(Between Dr. Kelso and Chris Turk "Turkleton" hehe!)**


	7. Chapter 7: the Realms

**All right... Well. I started the chapter trying to lead it one way and I ended up leading it... another way. So. The beginning is crap, but I can think of no other way to start it off... so... sowwy. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: My name does not start with Libba and doesn't end with Bray. Therefore, these don't belong to me. The characters, I mean. Anything that didn't come from the books belongs to me. Almost. I dunno... Leave me alone! Don't sue me! I've got no money! Go sue Libba Bray for killing Kartik!!**

Gemma woke up feeling disoriented. She tried to stretch and ended up nearly hitting the warm lump beside her. Turning onto her other side, Gemma saw Kartik sleeping and sat up slowly in the bed, trying not to wake Kartik. In his sleep, he hugged her around the waist and snuggled his head into her stomach.

"Teddy…" he murmured softly. Gemma smiled evilly and whapped him on the head, causing him to wake up with a start.

"So what, I get trumped by a teddy bear in your dreams?" Gemma asked as Kartik sat up in the bed, eyes watering.

"Jesus, Gemma, what was that for? It hurts!" Kartik whined. "Besides, it's six in the morning on a Saturday!"

Gemma smiled despite Kartik's whining. Leaning over, she kissed the top of his head.

"Poor Kartik…" She said with a pout. "Have any more injuries I need to kiss?"

Kartik smiled and pointed to his bottom lip. Gemma leaned in until his lips were less than a centimeter away, but suddenly pulled back.

"I have to go get ready. I have shopping and stuff to do for school. First semester is-"

"A month away, Gem." Kartik said, pulling her back into his body. "Come on."

"I'm not vegetating in bed, no matter who my bed partner is. Come over to my apartment, would you?"

Ten minutes later, Gemma was on her way to her apartment. Kartik promised to swing by later- he needed the sun shining before he could be persuaded to get out of bed.

"Hey Gem!" Poonam said as Gemma walked in and hung up her jacket. "How was your first time?"

Gemma glared at Poonam. For the prude that Poonam usually was, this line of teasing was _extremely_ annoying. However, Poonam did have food in her hands, and her cooking was the best of the house. Gemma grabbed a plate and a few pancakes before answering.

"Nonexistent. We didn't fool around or anything, much to your horny mind's dismay. Besides, why would you want to know if I screwed your brother?" It was only after Gemma pointed this out that Poonam stopped asking.

Breakfast went by in a series of pancakes and syrup fights, after which a very sticky Gemma had to go take a shower and wash up.

"Stupid long-armed cretin… can't believe he's my brother…"

Gemma stripped off her clothes and stuck them in the sink to soak. She then turned on the shower and stepped in, relishing the feel of the warm water on her skin. The heat made her feel content, and feeling its flow on her hair was simply heavenly. After a few moments, she began to feel tired…

Bile rose up into the back of her throat and dropped again, a burning wave of pain blinding her thought process and leaving her seeing white lights for a few moments. It didn't take long for Gemma to realize that the white lights were… people. Girls, actually, who were giggling and leading Gemma along a strange path.

"Look where we are, Most High," one girl gestured to the earth. There was a vague familiarity, but it was so changed that there was close to no resemblance to the old. The only thing that marked the ground besides green grass was a round seal with the same crescent and eye design that she knew as her own seal on the land's magic. As she approached, the land started to shake. With a squeal of fright, she backed away. The figures in white started laughing.

"Most High must choose a side! Most High must choose!" They cackled.

"Wait! What must I choose? Why? What's going on?" Gemma cried. She chased after the figures for a moment, then approached the seal again when the disappeared into thin air. The land began to shake again, but then it stopped as she suppressed her anxiety and moved closer. Gemma touched the seal and felt a surge of… well, it was hard to characterize. It made her feel powerful, heavy and light at the same time, sort of like that time she had been in the zero g chambers at space camp…

"How do I get out?" Gemma wondered aloud. Gemma Doyle's memories flashed through her mind rapidly, showing various times that Gemma Doyle and her friends had gotten in and out through…

"A white door?" Gemma asked aloud. Seconds after the words escaped her lips, Gemma saw one appear very faintly at the end of a long path. She followed the path and was inches away from the door…

"…Most… High…"

Gemma spun around and gasped. As her memories swirled painting a picture of the once proud gorgon, the picture in front of her struggled against its chains. Where hissing snakes once coiled at a moment's notice hung limp snakes that swayed only to prove their existence. And where once stood a tall, proud, fierce warrior now sat a wizened creature, resigned to fate.

"Gorgon!" Gemma cried. She ran over to the gorgon, and without a second thought, hugged the gorgon. "What's happened to you? Why are you like this?"

"Most High…" The gorgon whispered again. Gemma watched as the gorgon seemed to grow stronger and younger within an instant. "Most High, the situation here is more dire than you think. The creatures of the Realms are unable to access neither the magic in the ground, nor that which is seeping into the air, so they steal magic from one another. Only a member of the Order is allowed to handle free magic, something that we have only found out recently."

"This is bad…" Gemma whispered, still kneeling.

"Most High! You must leave! They come!" The gorgon hissed, pointing towards the centaurs that had started to come. Gemma reached for the door when she felt strong arms grab her from behind.

A menacing voice cackled, "Welcome back, Most High. We've been waiting!"

"Neela!" Gemma exclaimed. "Wait, all of you, just wait!"

"You kept the magic from us. Now we'll take it from you!"

Gemma growled as she tried to break free, fingers stretching towards the white door.

"Kartik… help me…"

**Sorry for making you all wait for so long... and then it's a cliffie. Well... I'm working on the next chapter now, so don't come after me, CORNED BEEF FAMINE! Besides, I don't even eat beef, so there, Lissie! Muhahahahaha!**

**Sonya... is loving spring break but hating the fact that I wasted it all reading Hana-Kimi and now Ouran High School Host Club (both really good mangas, by the way! YAY SANO AND MIZUKI!!)**


	8. Chapter 8: the Realms part 2

**Sorry it's so short! It's just a continuation of the last chapter. I've been trying really hard to work on this, and I finally decided to end it like this. However, seeing as sleep will probably not be gracing me with her presence tonight, I'll most likely be working on chapter nine and trying to read Naruto (only 50 or so chapters to go!) and other manga...**

A hand grabbed at Gemma's chest, and she bit it until she tasted blood.

"Aargh! Bloody cheating vixen!" A voice cried out. She aimed successful kicks at the closest four and started to run. Someone grabbed her hair and she spun around and punched whoever it was.

"Give me the magic!" Neela cried. She changed into various people: Pippa and her dark curls popped up first in front of Gemma, followed by Felicity and Ann.

"Get away from me!" Gemma shouted. She tried to run, but Neela danced in front of her, forcing Gemma to see figures from her past.

"Gemma, why'd you leave me?" Ann asked, her desolate expression bringing tears to Gemma's eyes.

"Stop it, Neela!" Gemma shoved Ann onto the ground, who grabbed her leg and forced her to fall.

"Gemma, why didn't you help me?" Ann asked again, holding up her wrists. Slits started to form on their own in Ann's wrists and her crimson blood oozed out slowly. Gemma backed away, tears falling freely now. She tried to fight, but how could she hurt dear Ann, or Felicity? Gemma Doyle's mother appeared in their place.

"Gemma, why do you still resent me? Do you still think me horrible for killing that little Gypsy girl?" Gemma backed away, unable to look up at this person who was so foreign and, at the same time, so familiar. "Want me to tell you a secret, Gem? _I enjoyed it_. I tried to play the good person for you, and I even sacrificed myself for you, didn't I? But you just went and threw it in my face, my dearest, darlingest little Gemma. You had to go and run away that one time instead of being a good little girl…"

Gemma felt hands grab her once again, but Neela's needling had done the trick. Gemma felt too weak and horrible to do anything.

What would she do if Felicity and Ann really _had_ felt that she abandoned them?

What would she do if her mother really had been like that?

What would she do?

What _could_ she do? She felt so helpless...

"Gemma! Gemma, are you okay?"

Gemma looked up and cried out as Kartik appeared in front of her eyes.

"No! I'll do whatever you want! I'll do it, but just leave me alone… leave Kartik out of this!"

The grip on her slackened and a pair of strong arms picked her up and set her aside. She didn't thrash, but flinched when a hand endeavored to cup her chin in its grip. She looked up as the hand left her face and sighed with happiness.

Like a knight in shining armor, Kartik really was with her in the Realms, and he had just punched Neela and the only centaur stupid enough to encounter Kartik's rage. He finished with the two and walked away, leaving the centaur unconscious and Neela crawling away as quickly as possible.

Kartik came back and picked up Gemma, who only allowed herself to cry when his arms came around her and all was calm again.

"Gemma, are you okay now?"

Gemma kept crying as Kartik held her.

"How did they know this? How did they figure out everything about Fee and Pippa and Ann and my mother? Why… why do they have such a weakening effect on me?" She sobbed. Kartik stroked her head softly.

"It's nothing bad, Gem. It just shows that you still care for them, that's all…"

"I'm weak! Fee would have been able to fight it-"

"No, she wouldn't have. It hurts because she struck a point that no human can avoid. You're stronger with this love for them overflowing in your heart than giving it up and becoming like Neela and the others. Just trust me, Gem..."

Gemma nodded and sighed. As her desolation from the incident subsided, weariness overtook her limbs…

"Gemma? Gemma! She's awake! That's wonderful!"

Poonam was the one calling this as Gemma awoke.

"Hey, Poonam…"

"Hey, Gemma, I don't know what happened, but I'm pretty sure I'm completely sold on this idea of yours about the magic and all. I mean, you brought Kartik back here! But you were kind of naked, so we had you covered up first, before you came back, but still!"

Gemma nodded as she finally noticed Kartik. He was sitting next to the bed, his back propped up against the side of the mattress. Poonam left under the pretense of getting food, and Gemma moved about on the bed so that she could see him.

"Thank you, Kartik…. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

Gemma leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. As she pulled away, she was startled by his voice, having assumed he was asleep.

"Is that all the thanks I get? Surely rescuing you from certain doom warrants at least a longer kiss, maybe the removal of certain superfluous items called clothing?" Kartik asked. Gemma grinned and shook her head.

"No such luck. A delicious snack cooked up by your sister may be doable, but otherwise, my hands are tied."

Kartik pulled himself onto the bed next to Gemma and kissed her.

"If only they were… what fun we could have…" He sighed. Gemma smacked his arm playfully.

"Let's go," Gemma commanded. Though she had just barely gotten through the harrowing experience, all she knew right now was that the sun was shining, good food was cooking and she had the rest of the day- hell, the rest of the month to spend with the people who mattered to her most. Life was perfect.

For now.


	9. NOTE TO JESS: NOT A CHAPTER

Sorry to my readers, but this is a little note to Jess: A) Am NOT a prude, you little arse! And B) You're the one who screwed up Ben and Sam, so quit acting as though it's completely not your fault, you rotten lynx! You corrupted my hobbit therapist! RAWR! So F-- OFF!

Anyways, chapter nine is on the way, my dears! Don't worry! I haven't had a lot of time, what with dance rehearsals five days a week plus studying for the AP exam I have coming up, but the next chapter is coming! I just need to get it on the computer now...

Sonya... hates Jess right now... stupid Elendil...


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